We still aren’t treating our wounded warriors right

The outpouring of community welcome and support shown to returning National Guard troops earlier this month was heartwarming to say the least.

Many of us along that spontaneously-created parade route found a tear in the eye and a lump in the throat. It was a wonderful thing.

But not all stories of returning veterans are so wonderful. A friend of mine sent me a link to a New York Times story that reveals that the Warrior Transition Units set up in the wake of the Walter Reed Veterans Administration scandal are proving to be a horrific “warehouse” for soldiers with deep psychological and physical trauma.

My friend, who is in a position to know, tells me that the story is “true to the bone” — and only the tip of the iceberg.

Read the story here.

No matter what your position on the wars our country has been embroiled in for nearly a decade, we can all agree that our handling of returning veterans has not measured up to what should be the highest of standards.

We should all do anything we can to help fix this. Write your legislative representatives, contribute to your local veterans’ outreach groups. This kind of thing is unacceptable.

Jim Cornelius, Editor